Breaking the Norm
by Bewdle
Summary: Clayton is unsure about his future due to his parent's financial problems. He decides that becoming a pokemon trainer will help his family get through this crisis. Along his journey to become the champion of Kalos, he becomes quite friendly with his fennekin. Rated M for language and possible lemon(s) in the future.
1. A Long Introduction

**This is my first time writing a story, so please forgive me if I make some grammar mistakes or reuse a word too many times. It would be very helpful if you left a review telling me what I can fix in the future. Thank you and enjoy!**

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**Breaking the Norm**

**Chapter 1: A Long Introduction**

I'm not sure what amazed me about the stars in the night sky. There really isn't much to them. They glow, that's it. Some are brighter than others and there are millions, maybe even billions. Perhaps it's just the way they glow. These kinds of questions always pop into my head whenever I gaze upon the stars.

"Is this as good as last time?" A gravelly voice said to my right.

"Yeah." I instinctively replied. My voice sounded off, but my attention was towards the stars. When I was younger, I would always stargaze with my dad during the summer. As I became older, my dad had to go to work more often so I would come out here and do this by myself. I always found it strangely peaceful to stare into the night sky.

"I think we should get back home," the voice came again, "It's getting late."

I take a deep sigh, knowing that it would be best to obey the voice. I make an attempt to move my arms and push myself off the ground, but it feels like my arms are being held in place. I didn't panic, I just accepted laying there, as I really didn't want to leave anyways. My acceptance was short lived as the stars above began to glow brighter. It looked as if they were expanding and it became a blinding orange light. Now I started panicking. I tried lifting my legs, arms, even turning my head but to no avail.

"Hey dipshit, I'm not gonna tell you again… GET UP!"

My eyes snapped open to see four orange lights lingering above me. I turn my head to my left to see my sister in my doorway. She was in her usual black short sleeve shirt and dark grey shorts. She had her normally straight black hair into a ponytail. She had her arms crossed and a clear expression of annoyance.

"Why are _you_ waking me up?" I groaned, feeling a yawn over take me.

"Mom's still cooking breakfast and told me to get you up." she said without breaking eye contact. She turned hastily and slammed the door to my room. I sighed and picked myself up out of bed. I scanned my closet and threw on a navy blue shirt and went to my dresser. I didn't have a whole lot of jeans to choose from, so I put on a blue pair with white socks. After getting dressed for the day, I checked myself out in my mirror. Not so bad. I was looking pretty good, until I saw the top of my head. My hair, as short as it is, was all over the place.

I twisted the knob of my door to reveal the hallway. The bathroom was just across from my room; lucky me. I shuffled over and entered the nearly spotless bathroom. I grabbed a comb from underneath the sink cabinets and began straightening my hair, all while my bladder decided it was time for a leak. I had my right hand on my comb and my left guiding the yellow waters. I finished up both tasks and looked into the bathroom mirror. My hair was looking pretty straight, except for the few brown strands that stood up in the back.

"Clayton! Breakfast is ready!" I heard my mother's voice call from down the hall. I quickly washed my hands and began down the hall. The kitchen was on the opposite side of the bathroom. I arrived at the kitchen to see my mother serving my sister eggs and sausage. Happy about the egg part, not so much for the sausage. I sat down next to my sister as mom brought breakfast to my plate.

"So… What's the occasion?" I ask as I dig my fork into the eggs. We usually don't have a family breakfast unless it's a holiday. I looked up at mom. She had her usual red kitchen apron on. She seemed to be puzzled at hearing my question.

"What, don't you remember that today is the day you and your friends get to become pokemon trainers?"

Ah shit. I forgot all about that. It's been months since I made that decision. My family has gone through an economic problem for almost two years now. At the time, I was feeling guilty for them having to spend money to feed me and such. A couple of months ago, my two friends, Gabe and Kyle told me they were going to become pokemon trainers when professor Sycamore got more starters. I did a bit of research into that stuff and it turns out by becoming a gym leader, you could make thousands of pokedollars a year. What's even better is that if you get into the elite four, or even become champion, you could be getting a million pokedollars every three years. After learning this, I decided that this would be the best course of action for my family and myself.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't forget. I was just wondering why you were serving breakfast for this?" I am a terrible liar, but my mom seemed to be the only one who couldn't see through them.

"I just thought that you should have a full stomach before you leave." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she slightly slumped over. She quickly regained her posture and put on a smile. She was putting eggs on her plate when we heard a knock at the door. Mom took off her apron and went to the door. She opened the door to reveal my parents' friend and mailman. I think my parents called him Henry once.

"Good morning Mrs. Webber, here you go." He handed my mom some mail and what looked to be a couple of pokedollars. "That's all I have to spare, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, we have been doing better lately." Mom took the mail and gave the man a hug. She pulled away and waved him goodbye. She closed the door and returned to the table. I turn my head back towards my plate and continue eating until my sister breaks the silence.

"So do you have a backup plan, Clayton?" She asked, looking up from her plate. If I know her at all, and I do, she's going to say something just to get on my nerves.

"For what?" I duly replied back to her, our eyes now meeting.

"For when you end up getting your ass kicked." She sneered as she looked back down to her plate. She knew how to push my buttons. Then again, I knew how to push back.

"What's your backup plan when you don't get accepted into college?" I shot back at her. Her eyes immediately went to me and her brows curled.

"Oh, I don't know, but it will be something I know that I can accomplish." She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"What are you trying to say? That I can't become a trainer?" I glared her down as she was already doing to me.

"What ticked you off, genius?" She was smirking now, believing she had taken victory in our argument.

"CLAYTON! ABIGAIL! KNOCK IT OFF!" Mom slammed her hand down on the table. Both me and my sister looked towards her. I felt bad for making a scene in front of mom, especially today. I looked back down to my plate and continued my breakfast.

I cleared my plate and returned it to the kitchen sink where it would be washed off. I exit the kitchen and return to my room to prepare my leave. I then realize at that moment that I don't even know all the things I'll need for pokemon training. I know that I need potions, but I don't know what else I would need for the journey. Whatever, I can just ask dad for help tonight.

I threw on a black, empty backpack. Not sure what I would need it for, but just in case I find something useful. I exit out of my room and walk through the kitchen into the living room to check the time. The clock read 11:27 and I think the time me and my friends are supposed to meet is sometime around twelve. I see my mom sitting in my dad's black leather chair watching a cooking show on TV. I walk across the living room towards my mom. As I approach her, she looks up to me with a blank stare.

"Hey, I'm going to be taking off…" I trail off as I look towards the ground. She gets out of the chair and wraps her arms around me for a hug. I put my arms around her as well and squeezed back. She lets go of me and grabs my shoulders.

"Promise me that you'll be careful." She spoke sternly as she looked into my eyes.

"I promise I will." I reassured her as she released me. I make my way towards the front door and bring my hand up to the knob.

"Oh, and don't forget," she calls to me, "When you get your pokedex, call the home phone. I'll be waiting."

"Don't worry, I'll call." I turn back to the door. If I open this door and leave, then my future is truly set in stone. I can either stay and cause my family more trouble, or I can go out and attempt to fix their problems

I reach for the knob, knowing what I have to do, and turn it. I pull the door inwards and let the cool air inside. I look out towards the set of spiral stairs in front of our door.

"I guess I'll see you later." I call over my shoulder as I take a step out and bring the door with me. The thud of the door closing behind me brought me to my senses. I really am leaving my family to become a trainer. I felt guilty, but I knew by doing this it would benefit everyone. I head down the spiral staircase and eventually reach the tan ground of Aquacorde. It wasn't only the ground that was tan, but the buildings and the bridge too. The only things that weren't tan were the sky and the river that flowed underneath the bridge.

I walk across the semi-long bridge to get to the meet up spot on route two. I eventually see a sign labeled 'Route 2' and spot two people talking to each other. The one on the left was about my height, maybe even a bit taller. He had dirty blond hair and had slightly tan skin. He was dressed in a white tank top and cargo shorts. The one on the right was a head shorter than me and was dressed in a black suit. His dark skin matched with his equally dark and curly hair. I was picking up my pace after seeing them.

"Gabe, Kyle!" I yelled, grabbing their attention. The two looked towards me with grins on their faces.

"Hey Clay! What took you so long?" Gabe gripped me in a bear hug. He released me and put his arms to his hips. It took me a second to recover my breath after he squeezed it all out of me.

"Sorry, I got caught up in breakfast." I confess to them.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Kyle and I just got here," Gabe says, "So are you ready to head to Lumiose?"

"I guess, but what about the tall grass? I read that most wild pokemon like to hide in the tall grass. They wait for unsuspecting prey to walk to them and then they attack you."

"Don't worry about it, shorty here brought some repel sprays." Gabe grins at his own joke as Kyle shoots him a glare.

"Here you go Clayton, don't waste them because I didn't bring any extras. Spray yourself down now." Kyle finally spoke up and handed me some green spray bottles. They didn't look any different than a hair spray bottle, other than the pokeball logo on the front. I tossed all but one in my backpack before I sprayed myself down. The smell didn't hit me until I got up to my chest. No wonder pokemon are repelled by this, it smells as if I became a rotting corpse. I got up to my neck before I started gagging at the putrid stench. I look up to see Kyle giggling to himself.

"Aren't you guys gonna put some on?" I question them after finishing my dry heaves.

"Oh us?" Kyle responds, "No, we are just gonna follow your lead through the route." He steps back to reveal the rest of the route behind him. Kyle always had a way of pissing me off. He was always looking out for himself, but if he could bring someone to the top with him then he would. I grumbled slightly, but he is helping me out by giving me a way to Lumiose. I walked the route as Gabe and Kyle followed behind me. They walked a little farther behind me. I assume so they don't have their nostrils assaulted by my new smell.

As we approached the entrance of Santalune forest the stench finally left me. This also meant that I had to use another spray. I reached into my backpack to pull out another repel. My hand made contact with the metal and sent a shiver down my spine. I pulled it out of my bag. But before I had a chance to use it on myself, Gabe took it from my hands.

"Hey, I can take the smell from here." he said this just before he sprayed himself down. I think his first mistake was going top to bottom, but he endured it. Shortly after spraying, he visibly gagged. Gabe was always a nice person. He would make jokes and such, but he would never intentionally put someone down. He always believed punishments and accomplished should be shared together. He regained his composure and waved for me and Kyle to follow along.

The walk through the forest was relatively uneventful. Gabe's repel ran out and I handed him another to use. He accidentally sprayed his face and hurled behind a bush. We just followed the path through the forest and saw the exit. We exited the forest without hesitation and reached route three. Kyle told me we didn't need to use any repels, as there was no tall grass along the road.

"So what starter do you guys plan on getting?" Kyle spoke up from the back. I hadn't thought too hard about this; I was just thinking of getting whatever starter they didn't choose. Gabe turned his head back towards Kyle.

"Well, I'm thinking of getting a froakie, I think water is the best type to choose in the long run." Gabe stated matter-of-factly.

"You're choosing a froakie out of all the water types?" Kyle acted puzzled by Gabe's answer. Gabe looked back at him as if he was spewing nonsense.

"What are you talking about? There is one water, one grass, and one fire starter." Gabe seemed pretty confident in what he was talking about.

"Per region that is usually true, _but_ my mom told me that Professor Sycamore would have more than just the Kalos starters. Apparently there is supposed to be a lot of trainers who are starting their journey these next couple of days. My mom was worried I might not get the starter I wanted so she called Sycamore and dealt with the situation. You guys are lucky to be friends with me otherwise you wouldn't get first pick with me." Kyle finally took a breath and smiled at us both. As much as I dislike him, he really is a good friend. Hearing his lecture got me a bit more worried though. My plan was to choose the leftover pokemon, but now I have to choose between… oh Arceus, how many do I have to choose from?

"If that's the case, then I'm still choosing a water type, I'm just not sure who though. A piplup might be really cool." Gabe was looking up as he spoke aloud. If he's choosing a water type, then I probably shouldn't choose one too.

"Hey, if you're choosing water, then I'm choosing a grass type," Kyle popped in between me and Gabe and spoke enthusiastically, "I'm thinking of either a bulbasaur or a snivy, what about you Clayton?" They both turned to look at me.

"Uh… since you two chose water and grass, then I guess I'll choose fire," I stated, but they weren't satisfied.

"Well, do you have an idea of _what_ pokemon you want to choose?" Gabe asked.

"No… I don't really know any starter pokemon than the ones here in Kalos." I say, embarrassed at my lack of knowledge. Kyle chuckled to himself while Gabe looked concerned for me.

"Don't worry about it, I would recommend choosing a charmander, fennekin, or a torchic," Gabe reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a folded map that a tourist would have. "Here," he hands the pamphlet over to me. "Just look at the index and find the regions part, from there flip to a region and it should show the starters right away." Gabe said as we approached the entrance of Santalune city. I pocketed the pamphlet; I could check it out later.

As we entered Santalune city, I took in the familiar sights. I can easily say Santalune is a much better city than Aquacorde. In Santalune there are actual houses here, in Aquacorde it's all apartments. In Santalune they have a pokecenter and a gym; at home, we got none of that. Do I need to say anything else? Santalune is a place that I would love to start my family in. Gabe actually lives here in Santalune. I've been over to Gabe's house more times than I can count. Our parents would make play dates for us and we would play around in Santalune city at least once a week. In a way, I guess I grew up in Santalune.

"Guys, I need to make a stop at home real quick so just wait out front." Gabe said quickly as we approached his house. He entered his house and left Kyle and me to stand awkwardly next to each other as Gabe did whatever he did.

"So, are your parents pokemon trainers?" I quizzed Kyle. He never told me much about himself unless Gabe was around. In fact, I met Kyle through Gabe when I was at his house to play however many years ago. I always considered Kyle a friend, but I'm not sure if I could ever see him the way Gabe sees him as a friend. To me, he is only looking out for himself, no matter what he does.

"Don't know," He takes a glance at me. "Never told me, or showed, if they did. What about you?" Kyle asks monotonously. I could tell he didn't care about what answer I threw at him, but you can't make friends if you're not honest.

"Yeah, my dad had a team of four pokemon. His starter was a cyndaquil, but I don't know what his other pokemon were. He told me he stopped being a trainer when he fell in love with my mom. Not sure what happened to his pokemon, but he started his life here in Kalos with my mom." I looked over to Kyle and, to my surprise, he was actually listening to what I was saying. Maybe he isn't such a bad person. Then the door to Gabe's house swings open, revealing Gabe holding a backpack in his left hand and a belt in his right.

"Sorry that took so long, I was looking for my pokeball belt and a backpack." Gabe said in between breaths as he swung the backpack around his arms. I took a glance at the belt in his hand. I'm not sure what I expected when I heard 'pokeball belt', but it didn't seem any different than a normal belt.

"You sure that's a pokeball belt?" I asked him which caused him to double check his belt. He slid his hand along the belt.

"You can't tell just by looking at it, but what makes a pokeball belt different than a normal belt is that a pokeball belt has magnets inside of it, so I can have my balls hanging off my waist." As soon as Gabe finished his sentence, Kyle let out a laugh and I gave a chuckle. Gabe sighed and slid his belt around his cargo shorts.

Gabe shrugged off our laughs and continued, "Since I have everything I need, let's continue to Lumiose." He spoke as he walked past us. We followed him to the north of Santalune and reached route four. Since this route is just a long walk, with no need to use repels, I might as well read that pamphlet Gabe handed me.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small book. The front read '_A General Guide to Pokemon in Regions Near You!'_ It seemed to be about fifty pages long. I flipped through a couple pages and found the index. Might as well start with the top region. I flipped to the page the index told me and it showed me three pokemon. Charmander, bulbasaur, and squirtle were labeled underneath the pictures in a barely readable font. The font was also too small to read. Whatever, I'll just choose from what I know.

I look up from the small booklet to see that we walked most of the dirt path and passed all the hedges and that big fountain. In front of me was a security gate that led into Lumiose city. It was less of a gate and more of a hollow rectangle that you walk through. There were security guards on our left behind a desk, but that's pretty much all the security there is. We walked through the gate without any problems and entered Lumiose city.

"For my first time in the city, this is amazing!" I exclaimed as I took in the sights. I have only ever seen Lumiose on the TV. There were people and pokemon walking through the city together, which isn't seen often back in Aquacorde. I knew that this city was huge, but it was still so much bigger than I expected.

"Come on guys, professor Sycamore's lab is this way!" Kyle yelled as he turned to his left and began walking. We both followed Kyle on the sidewalk as cars passed by us.

"This is it." Kyle says as he walks up to the building. He pushes the doors open with me and Gabe following him in. The interior had a simple design with dark blue walls and white tiled floors. There was a receptionist desk to our left with a blond haired woman sitting behind it. Kyle was already strolling up to her when I got inside.

"How may I help you?" The woman politely asked Kyle to which he leaned on the desk with his left arm.

"I'm here to see Professor Sycamore for my starter." He grinned at the woman, as if trying to impress her.

"I'm sorry, but starter selection doesn't start until tomorrow." The woman replied back and put her hands together.

"Ah, I see you don't know who I am." Kyle slid a card on the desk towards the woman. The woman picked it up, examined it, and held her left hand to her ear.

"Professor Sycamore… You have a… Kyle Blevins requesting for starter pokemon… Yes, my apologies," She took her hand away from her ear, "Take the elevator to the third floor; you may bring your friends with you." She told Kyle as he picked his card back up.

Kyle motioned for us to follow him into the elevator. Gabe and I squeezed into the small elevator as Kyle pressed the '3F' button. It takes the elevator about six seconds until the door opens. We exit the elevator to see Professor Sycamore standing with his hands to his waist. Being a professor, I assumed he would have looked up tight like a high school science teacher. Instead, he had a white lab coat over a purple shirt with black pants. His dark hair curled to the right side.

"So you finally arrived." Sycamore said like he wanted us here sooner.

"Yeah, we left from route two at twelve o'clock," Kyle stated.

"No wonder it took you so long," Sycamore chuckled lightly while shaking his head, "So you three are here for some starters, am I correct?" We all nodded to his question. "Normally I wouldn't give out starters before my set time, but seeing as Mrs. Blevins decided to donate a large sum of money to my lab, I will make an exception," Sycamore stated. He walked over to a tote bag on a desk and pointed to it. "In this bag, I have at least one starter from every region. If you know what starter you want tell me now so I don't have to release every single one of them from their pokeballs."

Gabe spoke up first, "Can I have a piplup?"

"Sure you can," Sycamore dug through the bag until he found a certain pokeball. How can he tell what pokemon is inside without any labels on the pokeball? He set the ball down on the table next to him and looked back to us.

"I'll take a snivy," Kyle announces. Sycamore digs through the bag and takes out another ball.

"And what pokemon do you want, kid?" Sycamore stood up straight and looked at me. I knew this question would come eventually. Gabe's pamphlet didn't help my decision making at all. I guess I really should stick with what I know.

"I'll take a fennekin, please." I told Professor Sycamore. He went through his bag again and found a pokeball for me. He held the three pokeballs with his left hand and gave one to each of us with his right.

"Alright, you boys are almost set for your pokemon adventure. Before you leave, you each will need… one of these!" He pulled a pokedex from his right pocket and grabbed two more from his left. He handed us one each. "With this pokedex, there are two main functions. The first and foremost is your pokemon data. As you go on your adventure you will come across pokemon and this feature will help you battle those pokemon. It will tell you pokemon stats, such as health and status effects. It will even tell you the typing of pokemon. It will show you what moves that the pokemon can use and so on. The second feature of the pokedex is that you are able to make video calls and phone calls with it. Video calls will only work if both sides have a video camera, otherwise it will become a normal phone call. You can switch between the two functions by pressing the buttons on the left near the power button. Any questions?" Sycamore stopped his lecture and pointed to each of us. Nobody spoke out. "Good, now go start your adventure!" He exclaimed at us as he put on a smile.

Kyle was the first to rush into the elevator and waited for me and Gabe to join him. We ran into the elevator and waited for the six agonizing seconds to pass until the elevator door opened. We spilled out onto the lobby floor and ran past the receptionist, out into the street.

"Gabe, I challenge you to a pokemon battle!" Kyle was yelling on the street, he seemed happier than I had ever seen him before. Gabe and Kyle got into a battle stance as I watched from the street curb. I pulled out my pokedex to try to get an understanding of it. Technology wasn't a common thing at home. We had a TV and a home phone, that was about it. As soon as I powered on my pokedex it showed the time 4:34. I pushed a button on the side of the pokedex that had a phone symbol above it and rows of numbers appeared. I punched in the phone number for the home phone and the pokedex began to ring.

"Go piplup!" Gabe yelled as he threw his pokeball and a red beam appeared from it. The red beam molded into a small form and became what I assume is a piplup. It was a mix of light and dark blue and had a rounded figure. Gabe pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at his new pokemon.

"Go snivy!" Kyle roared as he threw his pokeball into the air and a new form appeared at his side. Kyle's Pokemon was just as short as Gabe's, but his was green and was curved. Kyle pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at his pokemon.

"Hello?" I almost forgot that I was calling home until my mom's voice pulled me from the battle.

"Hey mom, I just got my pokemon from Professor Sycamore."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Do you know what time you will be home?"

"I don't know… maybe around eightish?"

"That's fine, your dad will be arriving home at seven to congratulate you." That surprised me. Dad usually doesn't get home until midnight.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later mom. Love you, bye."

"Goodbye Clayton." I hang up and give my attention back to the pokemon battle in front of me.

"Piplup, use pound!" The piplup ran towards the snivy, not very fast but it was trying its best.

"Snivy, dodge his attack and use tackle!" The snivy sidestepped the piplups attack and lept towards the piplup. The snivy tackled the piplup head first. It was like watching a baby's first steps.

"Piplup, get up and use pound again!" Piplup sat up and waddled over to the snivy that was laying on the ground, "Aim for its neck!"

"Snivy, get up and dodge their attack!" The piplup was already too close for the snivy to react and the piplup used its fin to chop at the snivy's neck. After getting hit in the neck the snivy sat up and pushed the piplup away.

"Snivy, use tackle! Knock him off his feet!" Kyle grinned as he said this. He had a plan, but I couldn't tell what.

"Piplup, dodge his attack!" The piplup was in a defensive position as it awaited the snivy's move. The snivy was coming from straight on so it shouldn't be too hard to dodge its attack.

"Snivy, follow that piplup!" Kyle called out. I still couldn't figure out what his plan was, until I noticed that the piplup was leaning to its left with its birdlike legs. As the snivy was approaching, piplup began to move to the left. The snivy was able to predict the dodge and followed the piplup. When the snivy went to tackle it aimed lower towards piplup's feet. Piplup ended up tripping on snivy's head and landing face first onto the ground. Gabe gasped as he looked back at his pokedex and withdrew his piplup into the pokeball.

"Congrats on winning." Gabe said as he approached Kyle. Gabe put his pokeball on his belt and extended his hand towards Kyle. Kyle reached his hand out and they shook, both wearing grins. I lifted myself up from the curb and walked towards them.

"Did you enjoy the show, Clayton?" Kyle asked as he put his hands to his waist. He seemed pretty proud over defeating his first opponent.

"It wasn't the worst thing I've seen." I told him honestly. I've seen gym battles on TV before and those usually got me pretty excited; this did the opposite for me. He seemed to have gotten ticked off by my statement.

"Then how about you and me battle. Gabe go heal your pokemon in the pokecenter behind me," Kyle no longer had his nice guy attitude. Gabe, without saying a word, went into the pokecenter. "Snivy, to me." Kyle commanded his snivy who was watching us from the side lines.

"Dude, I'm not gonna battle you today. I'm exhausted. I just want to get home and sleep before I actually do all this trainer stuff." I explained as I moved my hands to my pockets. I actually wasn't that tired yet, the problem being I didn't know how to battle.

"So… What you're trying to say is that you admit defeat?" Kyle moved in closer to me seeing through my lie. From that statement alone I was tempted to wipe his smug expression from his face with my new pokemon, but I wouldn't even know where to start in a battle. Maybe after I begin training I will accept Kyle's battle requests.

"Yeah, sure I admit defeat." after saying this Kyle grins from ear to ear. Gabe came out of the pokecenter as Kyle began yelling about how he is 'undefeatable'. I could clearly see Gabe was embarrassed about Kyle's reaction as he grimaced upon hearing those words.

"Turn it down a notch Kyle. Clayton and I are going to head back to our towns now… see you tomorrow?" Gabe leaves his question in the air as Kyle turns to him.

"See you tomorrow." Kyle fist bumps the air and departs further into Lumiose where I assume he lives.

"Let's go Clay." Gabe says as he heads back towards route four. We exit Lumiose through the security gate and follow the wide dirt path. We pass by rows and rows of hedges that I hadn't taken notice of before. Eventually, we reached the big water fountain that was in the middle of the route. I slowed down to take a good look at the fountain. It looked like a clam with pearls in it. The water gushed out from inside the clam.

"You still haven't taken your pokemon out since you got it," Gabe said as he stopped and turned to me, "Do you think I could I see it?" He put his head down slightly as he picked at his fingers.

"Sure, I was meaning to do it at home, but there's never too soon." I pulled the pokeball out from my bag and took a look at it. It felt unsettling to hold an object knowing that there is a living thing inside of it. I guess it was just fucking with me morally. I press the button on the front of the ball and toss it into the air. A red beam flew out next to me. The beam began to form a small dog-like shape. The redness of it dissipated and left a fennekin in its place. The fennekin looked up to me and looked confused as to where it was.

"Nice fennekin, have you been thinking of a name for it?" Gabe asked as he pulled out his pokedex and scanned my pokemon. A name? I didn't even know what starter I wanted and now I gotta think of a name?

"No, have you thought of one for yours?" I pointed to his belt when I asked. He took a glance down and brought his hand up to his chin to think about my response.

"Not yet, I was hoping to come up with one before I got home, which reminds me, I need to get back home before my mother chews me out," He stretched his arms behind his head as he made his statement, "I'll see you tomorrow, Clay!" He turned back to Santalune and started walking.

"See you later, Gabe!" I yelled back to him. I looked down to my fennekin, who was staring at me. I sit down on the ground to be somewhat eye level with my fennekin.

"Hey, my name is Clayton Webber and I'm your trainer!" I threw my hands up to get the fennekin excited about our future, it seems like it didn't do anything. The fennekin keeps its eyes on me as if it was studying me. This one-sided conversation wasn't going anywhere. I lowered my arms and set them on my lap.

"You don't understand what I'm saying, do you?" The fennekin blinks at my comment.

"Fenn fennekin!" It barks its name to me and shows a toothy grin.

"Sorry, but I don't understand your language. Maybe you _do_ understand what I'm saying?" I leave an open ended question and pull out my pokedex to see what I'm dealing with. A female fennekin that knows scratch, tail whip, and ember. I looked up from my pokedex to see the fennekin was now sitting next to me.

"I got an idea, let's give you a name," This grabbed the fennekin's attention, "I'm going to start listing off names and if you like one of them, I want you to shake your head up and down like this." I move my head up and down so she can understand what I meant. "But if you don't like a name, shake your head this way." I move my head from left to right for her.

"Alright, let's start off with… Madison, what do you think of the name Madison?" I wait for a few seconds for the fennekin to do something. To my surprise, she actually shakes her head no. Holy shit, I didn't actually think this would work. Like at all. "Uh, what about Jaiden?" She shakes her head no right away. "Ok, seems like I'm picking bad names. What about Isabelle?" She looks at me then begins to nod her head up and down. "All right Isabelle it is!" I yell out. It looks as if she also seems happy. "I can already see us becoming good friends now that you can basically say yes and no." I joked with her and stood up from the ground.

"Alright Isabelle, I'm going to put you back into your pokeball. You won't have to be in there for too long though, just until I get home." She nodded at my statement, as if she was confirming her understanding. I didn't know that pokemon were this smart. I grab the pokeball from the ground and tap the button on the front. Isabelle glowed red for a short bit and was transferred into the ball. It still felt really weird to have another being's life in your hands. I set the pokeball carefully down into my bag and continued on the dirt path to Santalune.

The walk from route four to home was as boring as it gets. I had no one to talk to, My legs were getting incredibly sore, and I had to use a couple repels to get through Santalune forest. The smell was still as stomach twisting as ever, but after the first time, I wasn't as affected by its stench.

I crossed the tan bridge that led from route two to Aquacorde. I walked up the spiral staircase of apartment complex three. After reaching the fifth floor, there was a door facing the staircase. The door to my home. I twisted the knob to see it was already unlocked. As I entered I saw dad in his chair with mom standing next to him.

"I'm back." I state as I close the door behind me. My mom comes up to me and gives me a hug.

"Welcome back, Clayton. Your father has something to talk to you about. Right, honey?" Mom said the last part loud enough to draw dad's attention. Dad sighed and stood up out of his chair.

"Clayton, come with me." His gruff voice barked as he went towards the hallway. I took a glance at mom who looked a bit mad at him. It would probably be for the best if I just followed him. He opened the door to my parents bedroom and waved me in. I enter their room and sit down on the queen sized bed. Dad closed the door behind him and faced me.

"Come on, show me your pokemon." His tone flipped from annoyed to excited. He showed his smile as I took off my backpack. I picked the pokeball out from the inside of my backpack and showed him the ball. I pressed the button and pointed it towards the floor. The familiar red beam shot out of the ball and formed into my fennekin. "Oh, wow! You got yourself a fennekin! Following the fire type tradition, huh?" He let out a laugh as he kneeled down to Isabelle. It's been a while since I've seen my dad this happy. It's also been awhile since I've seen my dad. He's been working all day everyday at his research center in Lumiose. He takes his bike from here to Lumiose everyday.

"I heard you got a pokedex from that professor, mind if I take a look?" He looked up to me after he stopped petting Isabelle. I reach into my backpack once more and pull out the pokedex. I hand it over to him and he presses the power button. He points the dex at Isabelle and reads the screen.

"Looks like you got yourself a female," He turned his head to me and gave a smirk before looking back to the dex and read its contents, "You got yourself a nice starter. Have you thought of a name for her?"

"Actually, yeah. We both decided on Isabelle." He looked puzzled when I said 'we', "I taught her to nod her head for yes and shake it for no. She's a fast learner." Dad looked surprised at my statement and looked to Isabelle.

"Did he really teach that to you?" Dad spoke to her as if not believing me. Isabelle nodded her head and put on a grin. Dad looked back up to me and smiled. "Clayton, you're already becoming a better trainer than I was. Make sure you care for your pokemon as if they were your closest friend." He stood up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"When I was still a trainer, I thought of all my pokemon as only a tool to win against others, except for one. I had a typhlosion who was my best friend. I grew up with that typhlosion since I was about nine, when he was only a cyndaquil. My father gave me that pokemon to start my own journey. A few years later I met your mother when she was touring my home region of Johto. I fell in love with her and asked her out. Everything was going well, until I told her about me being a pokemon trainer. She didn't believe we could be in a relationship together if I was constantly wandering the region. I was forced into making a tough decision. I released all of my pokemon. It pains me to think about that day, but it's more important that you know how I failed so you can prosper." When he finished I felt my eyes were already filled up with tears. I couldn't imagine abandoning my friends for a person I loved.

"Son, don't think any less of your mother. It was _my_ choice to leave my pokemon." I felt bad for my dad. He gave up doing something he loved just to be with my mom. Even then, he is rarely home enough with his job in Lumiose, so what difference would it make if he was still a trainer?

Dad let go of my shoulder and opened the closet at the end of the bed. He began digging into a plastic box that was tucked into a corner. He pulled out a couple of items. A belt, a metal case, and plastic sack with pokedollars inside.

"These are all for you. The belt is to hold your pokeballs on, five magnets on the left and one on the right. This case is to hold the gym badges you will get." He handed me the belt and the case. He raises the plastic bag up for me to see. "And this is 10,000 pokedollars. I knew one of my kids would become a trainer, so I've been saving this for a while. This is for when you are out by yourself; you won't be able to rely on your mother for dinner anymore." He let out a laugh as he handed me the bag. I grabbed onto the bag, but he didn't let go. "I need you to promise me one thing. You will return home after becoming the champion of Kalos. Just promise me that you will return home, whenever your journey might end."

I kept eye contact as he was speaking. He really believes I will become a trainer. He really believes I will become champion.

"Dad, I promise… I promise I will return after becoming champion." As I said this, he let go of the sack, leaving it hanging in my hand. I set the sack down on top of his bed as I approached him with my arms out. He knew what I was doing and wrapped me into a hug. We held onto each other for what felt like an eternity. I knew that after today, I wasn't going to see him for a long time. Tears flooded my eyes and poured out onto his shirt.

He pulled himself away from me and wiped the tears from my eyes. I could see he also shed tears as his eyes drove marks down his cheeks.

"Let's go eat dinner, yeah?" Dad looked down at me, not waiting for an answer and opened the door. "Make sure you put that stuff in your room before you come to the kitchen." Dad pointed to the bed with all the items laid out on top. He leaves the room to me and Isabelle and heads towards the kitchen. I listened to what he had told me and grabbed the three items from the bed and stepped out into the hallway.

"Come on, Isabelle." I tell the fennekin who was sitting down and watching me. She sat up and followed my lead. I opened the door to my bedroom and navigated through the darkness and put down dad's items on my bed along with my backpack filled with repels. I'll sort through this mess later. I exit my room with Isabelle following me down the hallway. I entered the kitchen to see mom, dad, and Abigail at the table. I sat down between Abigail and mom. There was a thick slice of ham and mashed potatoes on everyone's plate. Everyone's plate except Isabelle's. She didn't even have a plate to eat from. I could tell she was hungry just by looking at her pleading face.

"Is there any more ham?" I turned my head to my mom, she seemed confused by my question.

"Why? You haven't even touched your dinner yet." Mom sets down her fork and looks at me.

"For my fennekin." I state matter-of-factly. Mom knew that I was coming back home with a pokemon.

"I'm sorry, but there are no leftovers." She put on a small smile, as if she was getting off from not feeding my fennekin. I look back at my plate. It's not fair that she doesn't get to eat, but I could. I get up from the table and open the cupboard where the plates are stashed. I take out a small plate and bring it back to the table.

"What are you doing?" Mom asked as I brought the small plate next to my own. I cut my piece of ham in half and slid it over to the small plate. I cut the meat up into small chunks for Isabelle. When all the pieces looked small enough for her to eat, I set the plate down onto the floor.

"Eat up, Isabelle. It's really good." I give her a smile as she sniffs the plate. She is hesitant at first, but after the first few bites she digs into the pile of ham. She looked cute when eating from her tiny plate. I brought my attention back to my own plate. I didn't realize until now, but my stomach was practically twisting from just looking at food. Jeez, I haven't eaten since breakfast. I dug my fork into the ham and mixed it with some mashed potatoes all the while I felt my mom's steely gaze from the table side.

After finishing my dinner, I picked up my plate and Isabelle's and took them to the sink. I told Isabelle to come with me as I went to my room. I opened the door to my dark cave and flipped on the lights to see familiar orange lights glowing from the ceiling which directed my attention to the items on my bed. I picked up the belt from my bed and set it on top of my dresser. I put the steel case in the front pouch of my backpack and set the plastic bag into the large pouch with the repels. I brought my bag to my dresser along with my belt.

Finally, I get to rest. My feet were sore from all that walking. Is this something I'm going to have to get used to? I sat down on the edge of my bed when Isabelle walked up to me. "Well, it's time we get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow… Do you want to go back into your pokeball?" I wait for Isabelle to answer as she ponders the question. She shakes her head no. "Do you want to sleep on my bed?" She thinks for a second then nods her head for yes. "Do you need help getting up?" As soon as I ask this, She hops onto my bed landing next to me. Show off.

It felt weird for me to undress in front of Isabelle on our first day meeting each other, but it's not like I'm going to sleep in my clothes either. I turned away from Isabelle and undressed. I threw my shirt, pants, and socks into the laundry basket across the room and slid into my welcoming bed. Isabelle curled up next to me under the blanket and watched as I struggled to turn off the lights. I wasn't used to reaching for my light switch from my bed, but I didn't want to get up either. Eventually, I hit the switch and the room went from orange to black in an instant.

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**This took about a week for me to write. It was mentally exhausting because I'm terrible at writing. I really hope that you enjoyed this and please review the story. If I am going to continue this, I need to become a better writer.**


	2. A Learning Experience

**I want to apologize for taking so long to upload this chapter. I had started writing this a day or so after uploading the first one. After a week of writing I had come up with a third of what I had in the first chapter. I took a short break, feeling burned out for awhile. That short break turned into months of avoiding writing. About 2 weeks ago I had found my motivation to write again. I logged into Ao3 and FF and saw all of your supportive comments. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this story.**

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**Breaking the Norm**

**Chapter 2: A Learning Experience**

I used to have a variety of dreams as I was growing up. Now, it seems like it's always going back to the dream of me stargazing with my dad. I think I get these dreams because I miss going out and looking at them with him. It's been a while since I've seen them after all. The last time I had stargazed, I was doing it by myself. I guess it just hasn't been the same since I started doing it alone. Maybe if I remember this dream in the morning, I could try to make some time to stargaze with him again.

I found myself back in the same dream I had been having for months; lately, though, it's been happening more often. I could feel the frozen ground underneath me, holding me in place to face the endless space above. Those same stars, in the exact same pattern as the dreams before, were glued to a sheet of black being held in the sky, staring back down at me waiting for me to make the first move.

But something was different. There was a warm feeling that rippled across my chest. Everything about it felt right. I wasn't able to move my head for a better view, but this wasn't really a new concept for me as this law had already been established since the first time I had this dream. I could see hair floating right above my chin, but just barely. The hair was dancing back and forth in front of me, as if it was taunting me or perhaps inviting me.

"I still don't understand why we came here." A feminine voice echoed around me. Strange, I've only ever heard dad's voice in these dreams. This voice was unfamiliar to me. It didn't sound like Abigail or mom and I didn't have any close friends who are girls. As confused as I was, words escaped from my mouth without warning.

"I don't know, it's just… relaxing to stare into the night sky." Talking to strangers is usually something I don't do, but something deep within me felt like I knew who this was. The warm feeling on my chest lifted and a figure sat up to my right looking at me. I could feel an aura of anger coming from it. The figure had its face and the rest of their body hidden by the darkness of the night making It impossible to tell who they were. Although, with hair sprouting from the sides of their head kind of narrows it down, except I don't know anyone with hair like this.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" The words parted from my lips with a bit of uncertainty. The figure moved their slim arms to their hips.

"No, I'm just having a hard time understanding some of the things you do, Clayton." The feminine voice came from the figure next to me. The figure sunk back down and the warm feeling returned to my chest, leaving the stars to my sight. First of all, why are they trying to understand me? Who could possibly be this figure? How did they know my name? Why are the stars disappearing? Wait, what? I took a second to focus on what was happening above me. All of the stars were turning off, one by one. It started off slowly and became more rapid as the seconds passed. The sky transformed into a black void and my body became weightless. It felt like I was being stretched in every direction at once.

My eyes shot open and my limbs returned to a normal length. It was hard to see anything in my room as there were no windows. I should probably grab something to eat; not having lunch yesterday seems like a bad idea in hindsight. I took a corner of the blanket and slid it off of me to reveal Isabelle sleeping curled up to my left. I probably shouldn't wake her as she's the one who will be working the hardest today. I shifted my body weight and guided my legs around her and slowly pushed myself off the bed. After that daring escape from the bed, I crept towards the door trying my damndest to not make any noise.

I took my sweet time opening and closing that door for Isabelle. After that eternity of slowly moving the door, I walked the narrow hallway finding myself in the kitchen seeking a quick breakfast. On the counter sat a bowl of apples varying in colors. I picked up a green apple and took a couple bites from it.

"Clayton…" My mother called from behind me. I turn around to see mom with her arms crossed. She looked disappointed in me. Is it because I chose a green apple over red? She already knows I prefer green. Oh shit, what if she was going to use those apples to bake something.

"Go put some clothes on, you know better than this." Mom interrupted my thoughts as she walked past me towards the fridge. I took a look down to check what clothes I did have on. My face burned up instantly as I realized I was only wearing boxers. I avoided eye contact as I sped past my mother. I pushed my door open and flicked on the lights. As I was closing my door, I heard yawning come from my bed. Fuck me, I forgot Isabelle was still sleeping. Isabelle poked her head out from underneath the blanket and put on a grin when she saw me.

"Hey, sorry for waking you up but I need to get dressed. Here, you can have the rest of this." I showed her the fruit and set it down on my nightstand. Isabelle crawled out from the blanket and examined the apple. As she did her thing, I threw on a red shirt and a pair of blue jeans with the belt dad gave me. I checked myself out in my mirror. The colors don't look the best together, but when have I ever looked the best. Seeing as this will be my last day home for a while, I should probably pack up some clothes.

I stuffed shirts, pants, socks, and underwear in my backpack; no need to be picky about my clothing. I turned back towards Isabelle, who had eaten the fruit to its core.

"So, you like green apples? I guess we got a lot more in common than I thought," I joked as I picked up the leftover core. I opened the door to my room as Isabelle hopped down from my bed, "Let's get some more breakfast, today is the day we start our journey."

We both exited my room and walked down the hallway. I tossed the core in the trash as we entered the kitchen. I noticed mom standing by the kitchen sink, watching me as I made my way to the fridge. I opened the fridge door to reveal what was left in our supply. Nothing stood out to me besides the berry drawer— everyone loves berries.

"Here, try this oran berry." I knelt down to Isabelle and put my hand out revealing a round, blue berry. She picked the berry from my hand with her mouth and chewed slowly. She swallowed the berry and shakes her head up and down.

"I guess you like those." I stood up and grabbed a plate from the cabinets and placed about a dozen oran berries on it and set it on the floor.

"Clayton," Mom spoke up from the corner of the kitchen, "We need to have a talk."

"Sure, what's up?" I stood up and looked at her face. I could tell she didn't look happy about something.

"It's about the whole pokemon trainer situation." She stated, she had the same disappointed look on her face from earlier. I wasn't sure what she meant by 'pokemon trainer situation' but I could tell this wasn't going to be good.

"Clayton, I want you to understand that I get… uncomfortable thinking about you becoming a trainer. It pains me to think about you getting hurt out there. I'm asking you to reconsider your choice." Reconsider? What's left to reconsider? I'm leaving to become the champion and keep us from ending up on the streets. I made my choice and I'm going to stick through with it. I have thought about this choice when I first made it and before I left yesterday. I can't just drop everything and go back to being a nobody.

"No, mom, I've already made my choice… I'm going to become a trainer, I'm going to become the champion of Kalos." I made my statement loud and clear. Her expression morphed into a blank stare.

"So… You have already made up your mind." Mom walked past me leaving me with her monotone statement and went into the living room to sit in dad's chair.

"Fenn?" Isabelle swiped at my legs to get my attention. She looked either concerned or confused. It's hard to determine what emotion she was expressing because I don't have any experience with pokemon. I take the empty plate from the ground and set it in the sink. Now is probably a good time to take my leave.

"Isabelle, come with me." I command walking back towards my room. I flung my door open to see my sister digging through my backpack.

"What are you doing?" Abigail jumped when she heard my voice. She turned to me with an embarrassed expression.

"Hey Clayton… this was supposed to be a surprise for you." She handed me a brown bag and looked ashamed for being caught. I snatched the bag from her hand and took a peek inside. There were quite a few sandwiches wrapped in plastic.

"There's also a container on the bottom with a variety of berries in it, I wasn't sure what kind you liked. I just thought you would want something for the road…" I was shocked, my sister wasn't the mean person I had always seen her as. A wave of regret washed over me as I felt the tears forming in my eyes. I pulled Abigail into a hug. She resisted the hug at first, but soon accepted it. I held onto her until she tried pulling away. I wiped the tears from my eyes and my sight returned to me.

"Hey, there's no need to get emotional over a few sandwiches." She cracked a smile. The first time me and my sister have a genuine bond and it's the day I leave home for who knows how long.

"Please stay safe, Clayton." She looked at me with sadness in her eyes as I gave her a reassuring smile. I could tell she didn't want me to leave. "And you," Abigail turned her gaze to Isabelle, "You better make sure Clayton doesn't get into any trouble, and please keep him safe."

"Fennekin!" Isabelle responded with a nod causing Abigail to let out a small laugh.

"Well, I have to go and prepare for class, I got accepted into college and today is my second day… good luck Clayton. I'll be checking to see if you reach the Santalune gym on TV." Abigail revealed her intentions to me as she left my room. I had no idea her second day was today, I guess she really did win the argument yesterday. I should make my leave as well. I threw on my backpack and attached Isabelle's pokeball to my belt. I was surprised the belt actually held onto it. I took one last look at my room before closing the door one final time. I walked the hallway with Isabelle for the last time as well. I already made this walk once yesterday, it should be just as easy now. I passed through the living room where mom was sitting in dad's chair with her eyes glued to the TV.

"Hey, I'm heading out now…" I expected mom to get up and hug me, but instead she sat still in the chair.

"Goodbye, Clayton." Mom spoke in the same monotone voice as she kept her attention on the TV. She knows I won't be back for a while, so why is she acting like I won't be gone long?

I opened the door without hesitation and closed it behind me and Isabelle for the last time. Already this was feeling worse than yesterday's start. We walked down the stairs of the apartment complex and crossed the bridge in silence. There was no one waiting for me at route two, so it was just going to be me and Isabelle.

At long last, I _finally_ get to begin my journey to become the champion of Kalos. I'm as nervous as I am excited. A few days ago, I was just a couch potato with no ambitions. Now, I'm going to save my family from the streets as I become the best trainer in all of Kalos! But in order for me to become the best, I have to actually know how to train a pokemon. I hope Isabelle will be easy to work with, because I have no idea where to begin. I wonder if anyone has become a champion with only one pokemon.

I looked down to Isabelle who was walking without a care in the world by my side.

"So… are you excited to start training?" I asked, watching Isabelle for a visual response.

"Fenn!" She barks with a nod of her head. The walk was a little awkward as it was silent for the most part. I guess part of being a trainer is having to endure this silence. I've always hated this feeling of being alone, and this one-way talk was giving off the same feeling. It's also hard to think of small talk when you only get a yes or a no for an answer.

"I'm really hoping our conversations have more depth in the future." I pulled my eyes from her and kept them on the path ahead. Speaking of hopes, I had hoped I could continue this journey with Gabe or Kyle, but I'm only now coming to terms with their plan for going ahead as soon as they finish with each gym.

We entered Santalune forest and followed the path. The forest was nearly silent compared to yesterday. The path was a clear dirt road with a few patches of knee-high grass popping up in the road every now and then- at least for the first half of the forest. After the first half, the path was covered in grass. I really don't want to use those repels Kyle gave me. Besides, I have Isabelle by my side. The walk along the path was nice and calm compared to yesterday. The rush to get out of the forest before we had to use a third repel was just awful. I'm just glad we can enjoy this walk while we can.

We eventually arrived at a grass covered road ahead of us. The grass barley went up to my knees. Hopefully Isabelle won't have a problem walking through this as the grass was just above her head. Although hoping won't be enough to keep me from being worried for her.

"Hey Isabelle, if you're having trouble walking through this, just make some noise and I could carry you the rest of the way." I know she doesn't like being in her pokeball, and bringing it up as an alternative would definitely keep her from informing me that she is having troubles. She smiled at my concern when she looked up at me through the grass. She seems so carefree. I wonder what's going through her head. Does she understand the concept of being trained or being a trainer?

Just as I was in mid-thought, something sprayed from my right. I turned to look at what seemed like a white rope shot overhead. It looked like the webbing a spider would make and it was drifting down towards me. I took a quick step backwards, dodging the webbing with Isabelle following close. I looked for the source of the web and found a yellow pokemon crawling into an open area. I guess this is our first battle.

I yank my pokedex from the side pocket of my backpack and scan the pokemon ahead of me. The pokedex showed a picture of the pokemon with text next to it reading 'Weedle'. There was more information underneath as well, but I didn't understand what any of it meant. All I understood was the moves part, which only had two listed.

I pointed the pokedex towards Isabelle, who was now standing in front of me ready to battle. Same three moves from yesterday. From watching battles on TV, this didn't seem too hard. Just yell out a move and your pokemon attacks. Although, when Gabe and Kyle battled yesterday, they didn't just tell their pokemon to do a move. They were strategizing where the move was aimed at and how it was done.

"Alright Isabelle, use scratch on the weedle!" I called out for Isabelle. She dashed forward running straight towards the weedle. Right before Isabelle came head on to the weedle, she did a tiny leap into the air and drew her paw forward. The weedle looked like it didn't understand what was going on. Her paw made contact with the weedle's body, causing the weedle to collapse to the ground. Isabelle returned to her position in front of me as the weedle quickly got back up from the ground. The weedle no longer had an expression of confusion and now seemed to understand what was going on.

The weedle springged from the ground as soon as it got back up. The weedle looked almost as if it was flying through the air towards Isabelle, but that wouldn't make any sense. Weedles don't have wings. Not to mention, this weedle only has two moves being poison sting and string shot. So how was this pokemon flying, no _gliding_ through the air?

"Fenn!" Isabelle called out and grabbed me from my thoughts. She looked worried while she was looking back at me. The weedle was still gliding towards her and was closing distance fast. The weedle looked like it was planning to use the stinger on its head to attack. This must be the poison sting attack listed on the pokedex.

"Dodge the attack! Run underneath it!" I yelled out for Isabelle. She didn't hesitate as she ran straight towards the weedle. If this all goes as planned, then Isabelle will go right under the weedle giving her the perfect chance to strike. But, that's only if the weedle doesn't do anything and I can already tell that won't be happening. I can feel the guilt already weighing in just by thinking of the possibility of sending Isabelle straight into an attack. I can't take the risk, I can't let Isabelle get hurt just because of some stupid plan that might not even work.

"Make a sharp left!" I called out just before Isabelle would have gone under the weedle. She did as told and turned left to flee. Just as she turned the weedle dived head first into the ground having it's stinger swallowed up by the ground. With its back to me, I could see how it was gliding through the air. It had the same white webbing from earlier and a bundle of leaves and twigs stuck to its back. I don't know how I didn't see it earlier as it was a bit bigger than the body.

"Alright Isabelle, finish it with ember!" Isabelle inhalled, charging up her attack. The weedle was now flailing to get its stinger out of the ground. Isabelle let out the flames from her mouth and set the squirming weedle ablaze. At first I was feeling excited, knowing I won my first ever battle. But the excitement quickly morphed into guilt. Seeing the weedle not only stuck in the ground, but also on fire made me feel disgusted in myself. I understand pokemon can be healed back up to healthy as if nothing happened, but something deep inside me tells me this is cruel. This is wrong.

Isabelle paraded up to me and sat down. She showed me a toothy grin, seeming prideful in her work.

"Nice job Isabelle. For our first time battling, I think we did pretty good." I knelt down and rubbed the top of her head. The least I could do is give her praise for winning, even if it didn't feel right to me. "Although, I think we should bring that weedle to a pokecenter… I'd hate to leave it here after battling it." I shifted my glance to the weedle who was no longer on fire, but was still stuck in the ground and charred from our battle. Isabelle looked puzzled by my statement. I'd hate to assume things, but I don't think Isabelle understands empathy or compassion. Hopefully I'm wrong.

I grabbed the weedle with both hands and yanked slightly to pull it out. Just by looking at its face I could tell it was out cold. It's a shame the weedle's glider was burned up along with him, I wanted to see it up close. I would put the weedle in my bag but I don't think it would be very comfortable. I guess I'll just carry the weedle. This shouldn't be a problem as the pokemon doesn't weigh very much.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Isabelle. She didn't seem to be listening as she was staring off into the distance. "Hey, Isabelle," I spoke up and she blinked before realizing I was talking to her. "I said are you ready to go?" She nodded to my question and came to my side.

Turns out we were only a few steps away from the exit of the forest. We strolled out onto the dirt road of route three and made our way to the Santalune pokecenter. For our first battle I was expecting it to be harder. Maybe being a pokemon trainer will be easier than I expected. Although a flying weedle wasn't on my mind for the first battle. It seems pokemon are smarter than I believed. It was also strange how the glider trick wasn't mentioned in the pokedex. I thought the point of the pokedex was to inform me about what pokemon can do in battle. If that's the case, I wonder if Isabelle has any hidden tricks like this weedle.

"Well look who it is," A familiar voice pulls me from thoughts, "I didn't think you would be here before Kyle." To my left was Gabe standing near some tall grass. He had a light blue t-shirt with jean shorts on. His face switched from relaxed to worried when his eyes spotted the weedle in my arms.

"What, did you already get in a fight?" He sounded disappointed as he came up to me to get a better view of the weedle.

"I wasn't the one who started it, I was just defending myself is all."

"Defending yourself? I can see the burn and claw marks. What, did you run out of food or something?" Gabe poked, hiding the concern from his face.

"Whatever, I'm just taking it to the pokecenter." I explained.

"Are you going to keep him?" I hadn't even thought about getting a second pokemon. Now that I think about it, I really haven't thought about anything before starting this journey. I don't even know how to train one pokemon, so what chances do I have training two?

"I'm not sure, I don't think I could handle training two pokemon." It's probably for the best if I tell Gabe the truth.

"What are you talking about? Training pokemon is easy. All you have to do is bond and battle. Make sure you do those two things and you're set," Gabe gave off a reassuring smile as we walked past the brick walls and entered Santalune city, "And I can already tell you got the battling part down." He quipped as he pointed to the weedle in my arms. He makes it sound so easy to train pokemon. Even though the first battle was a breeze, I don't think future battles will be so easy.

"Well, are you keeping it?" Gabe asked me as we reached the pokecenter. I took a look down at the weedle in my arm. It was still knocked out. Do I really think I could train two pokemon at once?

"Yeah… I think I'll keep it." Gabe pulled out his pokedex and scanned the weedle. He took a few seconds to read whatever he was looking at.

"Any ideas for what you're going to name him?" He asked without taking his eyes off of his pokedex.

"Not at all." Jeez, if I had remembered that I needed to name this pokemon, I might not have actually kept it. I'm not the most creative person, so thinking up names on the spot is a challenge for me.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to think of one in the center; I'm going to go back to route three and wait for Kyle, so meet us over there after you are done." Gabe spoke over his shoulder as he left me in front of the pokemon center and went back the way we came.

I walked through the automatic sliding doors of the pokecenter to reveal the clean and shiny interior. The inside looked both simple and futuristic. The walls and floor were white while the countertops and tables were a bright red. On the walls were screens with various information scrolling past.

"Welcome to the Santalune pokecenter! How may I help you?" A woman asked from behind the counter. She wore a warm smile and had her arms held behind her. I took a quick look around and realized she was talking to me then I shambled over towards the counter.

I spoke up nervously, "Uh yes, can you heal this weedle? I was battling it and I felt bad afterwards so I decided to bring it to a pok-"

"Do you have a pokeball for your pokemon? It would make the process much shorter if your pokemon was in its ball." She cut through my words and leaned forward on the desk. Her smile was no longer there, but replaced by a neutral stare as if I was just another annoying customer.

"I don't have one." I responded back. She sighed and pointed to her left.

"You can buy pokeballs to your right, just go around the corner and you can buy items from the guy over there." She returned to her upright position after her explanation. I followed her instructions and entered a separate room labeled 'Pokemart'. There was a guy fidgeting with something beneath the counter. As I was walking up to him he noticed me and stood straight up.

"Hey there, what do ya need?" He asked in a laid back tone.

"I'd like to buy a pokeball." This wasn't like any store I've been to. There weren't any products laying out for you to choose what you want.

"Sure thing, but I'd recommend buying at least five," He pointed to a screen to his left. "We're having a special at the moment. If you buy five then we'll throw in a premier ball for free."

"Uh sure, I'll buy five then. How much for them?"

"That'll be 500 bucks." I opened my backpack and scooped out the money from the sack. I handed the money over to him. It feels like I'm being scammed, but I don't know enough about the actual cost of these things to say for sure. He handed me a plastic bag with six pokeballs inside. One of them was a different color, which I guess is the premier ball.

"If you plan on catching the weedle, you can just press the pokeball to its head to capture it. There's no need to throw it if it's already down and out in your arms." His comment threw me off for a sec.

"How did you-" I started but was quickly interrupted.

"Not to be offensive, but it looks like you don't know how to use one. I mean, yeah, you have one on your belt, but you're forcing your fennekin to walk instead." I'm thankful for the first bit of information about capturing, but everything else wasn't necessary.

"Thanks for your input." I grabbed the bag with one hand and held the weedle in the other then exited the room. In the main area of the pokecenter, there were tables and couches in every corner of the building. I sat down at a nearby table and placed the weedle upon it. Isabelle came to my side and watched as I pulled out a pokeball from the plastic bag.

I tapped the pokeball against the weedle's head and its body turned into a red beam. The beam was sucked up by the ball. The ball wiggled a few times in my hand then stopped. I think I caught the pokemon? I was stunned by the thought of making progress in my quest. I turned to look down at Isabelle to see her taking interest in the ball in my hands.

"Well, we got a new member on our team!" That sounded forced, but it doesn't seem like Isabelle minded as she was grinning and wagging her tail, "Let's go get him healed up." I said as I stood up from the table. We walked over to the main counter and the nurse put her smile back on.

"Welcome back, would you like me to heal your pokemon?"

"Yes please." I said as I set weedle's pokeball on the counter.

"And your fennekin?" She asked as she placed weedle's ball on a cart nearby. I looked down towards Isabelle. She looked a bit scared, probably from having to go into the pokeball.

"Nah, just the weedle will be fine."

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute." She took hold of the cart and pushed through a pair of swinging doors behind here.

"I guess this is the part where we wait." I told Isabelle, "Let's go sit down for now." I waved for her to follow and I sat down on a nearby red leather couch, I assume for situations like this. Isabelle hopped onto the couch and walked on to me. She laid down on my lap. When she is curled up into a ball like this I just can't stop myself from petting her. I got three strokes in when the nurse came back out with the cart. Luckily I didn't have to get Isabelle off of me as she heard the nurse coming out and hopped off of me. I pulled myself off of the couch and walked back to the counter.

"That was fast." I stated as the nurse handed the pokeball to me. I thought it would at least be five minutes.

"That's why I asked you to get a pokeball. It's easier to heal pokemon when they are inside a ball than out." I took the pokeball from her hand and attached it to my belt. "If you need anything else just stop by and ask."

"Thanks for the help!" I called behind me as I left the center. I should probably check on the weedle, see if he really is healed. I pulled the pokeball from my belt and held it out in front of me. I pressed the button on the front and the red beam landed in front of me on the brick path. From the red beam, the weedle materialized. The weedle was aggressive when I first encountered it, but now it seemed friendly. I wonder if it's from me capturing it or or if it's from the center healing it. I knelt down and gestured for the weedle to come forward.

"Hey little guy, I'm your trainer… Uh, sorry for battling earlier, but I hope we can become good friends!" I extended my hand out towards him. The weedle crawled along the ground and came towards me. He looks excited, I think. He was making squishy sounds with his mouth so there's another pokemon that can't speak. The weedle sounds like how a newborn baby would speak gibberish, except with more spit and bug-like sounds.

Now would probably be a good time to name this guy. I remember reading a story a while back about a guy turning into a bug type pokemon.

"Let's name you… Gregor. How's that sound?" The weedle squealed in response. Isabelle seemed cautious of Gregor and was standing by my side, maybe it's because she battled him before and feels guilty. I nudged her forward a bit.

"If we're going to train together, then you two should become friends." I directed that towards both of them. Isabelle didn't seem interested in Gregor, it looked like she was trying to avoid contact with him. Meanwhile Gregor crawled up next to her and was doing more baby talk. It was cute in a way to see how the two interact with each other.

"Well, we better head back now. Gabe and Kyle should be waiting for us." I directed my gaze towards Gregor. "Are you ok with being inside your pokeball? I'd hate to lose track of either of you on the way back." To be honest, I had forgotten Isabelle was at my side when we first entered the pokecenter. I'm not sure how I would be able to keep track of two pokemon. Luckily, Gregor didn't seem to be opposed to the idea of being in the pokeball as he made a nodding motion with his head.

I stood up from the ground and took out Gregor's ball. After tapping the button, he was warped inside by the red beam. It's really convenient to be able to carry pokemon in these, and yet it feels weird to me.

"Let's go, we can't keep the others waiting forever." I tell Isabelle as I start my walk back. She trots alongside me as we follow the brick path back to the entrance of Santalune. I wonder what she thinks about having a new teammate joining us. I wish I could get an answer from her, but I wouldn't get much more than a yes, no, or a facial expression. It sucks because it feels like I'm just giving out commands all the time.

"So what do you think of Gregor?" I asked, even though I knew how minimal her answer would be. She didn't answer right away, It looked like she was compiling her thoughts. After exiting Santalune, she spoke up.

"Fenne… fennekin!" She answered my question, I guess. Isabelle looks up to me, as if waiting for a response from me. There's no right way to respond to this.

"Yeah, I actually have no idea what you said, but I assume you said something nice." She turned her head back to the path in front of us. From that response I can't tell if she likes Gregor or not. Oh well, I wasn't expecting to get an answer that easily. As if on cue, I heard Gabe's voice call out to me from my right.

"Hey man, you ready to do some training?" He jogged up to me waiting for a response.

"Yeah, sure. Is Kyle here?" I questioned him right as Kyle walked from behind Gabe. Today he was wearing a light grey t-shirt with grey shorts.

"Yep, we're ready to go when you are!" Gabe exclaimed as he pulled off the single pokeball from his belt.

"Hold on, when you say training, what exactly do you mean?" I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.

"We're going to battle, obviously." Kyle stated matter-of-factly as he held his own pokeball in his hand. "This is how we can tell where our weak points are at and then the real training begins." Kyle approached me as he was finishing up his sentence. "So, wanna battle?"

"I'm not sure if I should be going first, I don't really know how to battle…" As soon as I say this Gabe interjects.

"You already caught yourself a weedle, besides you saw me and Kyle battle yesterday. You know as much as you need to." Gabe gives a thumbs up as he backs up a few steps, making room for me and Kyle.

"I hope you're ready, because I am. Go Snivy!" Kyle threw his pokeball out and the red beam shone once again. His snivy had appeared in the space between us.

"Wait, you didn't give your pokemon a name?" Gabe asked from the sidelines.

"Nah, thinking up a name is more work then it needs to be." He does have a good point though and yet it sucks. Yeah I struggle with coming up with names, but calling your pokemon by its species is a bit fucked. Whatever, it's my time to shine.

"Alright, we got this Isabelle. Just walk on over there and we'll show them how it's done." Isabelle nods to my statement and readies herself in front of me. I pull the pokedex from my backpack side and aim it towards the snivy. The moves list had three moves listed: tackle, leer, and vine whip. I'm really hoping Kyle doesn't know any hidden moves for his snivy if there even is any.

"Ready?" Gabe called out to us. Kyle gave him a thumbs up and I mirrored him. "Begin!" Gabe yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Go in and use scratch!" I commanded Isabelle. She dashed forward and closed the distance fast.

"Flip her with vine whip." Kyle told his snivy with absolute calmness. Green vines sprouted from the snivy's back and extended towards Isabelle's sides.

"Burn those vines!" I yelled over the field. Isabelle had little time to charge up her attack when the vines came to her. She let out a small dose of flames on the vine to her right as the left one swooped towards her legs. She was flipped onto her side as the vine that was aflame was retreated back to the snivy. The snivy was panicking as it tried to pat out the small fire with its hands.

"What are you doing? Take advantage of the situation and hit it while it's down!" Kyle yelled at his snivy as it was putting the flame out.

"Isabelle! Get up and dodge his attacks!" It was stupid of me to open up with an attack when I'm going against Kyle. I should have played defense from the start. Isabelle got back up after a second and was waiting for the snivy to attack. The snivy retracted the first vine and ran towards Isabelle. There were only two moves listed that could be used offensively so he's probably going in for the tackle.

"Snivy, use iron tail!" What the hell? That wasn't listed on the dex.

"Get out of there, Isabelle!" Earlier I was thinking yeah this fight with a weedle was pretty easy but future battles won't be. Well I was 100% correct. It didn't matter if I said something or not, as that snivy was on Isabelle before I got through the fourth word. Isabelle was already trying to escape the attack by running to her left. Anything I would have tried would have been utterly useless.

Have you ever tried using a hammer to break open a walnut, or better yet an egg? I know that's weird a thing to ask, but I have a memory stored somewhere in my brain when my dad would let me try out my own "experiments" as he was explaining he did some science stuff for his job in Lumiose. One day, he was just letting me break things with a hammer, of course he was supervising me. He even let me smash open an egg. The hammer went right through that egg with little to no resistance. The cracking of the egg shell came first and was followed by the sploshing of the liquid from within. What an odd sound. Speaking of sounds, there was a reason this memory was pulled from the depths of my mind… Oh yeah. When the snivy's tail hit Isabelle's head it sounded nearly identical, except more cracking and less sploshing. What an interesting yet awful sound.

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**Now before you ask me if it will take me months to get the third chapter out, I hope not. I have exciting ideas for the future of this story. I'd also really appreciate if you left a review for this chapter.**


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